Saving Halloween
by E White
Summary: When a dead girl and a Skellington try to save their town, there's no stopping them.Now in the human world,Acacia and Raz have to scare the hell out of the humans to save Halloween Town and its holiday.[Sorry,but this story seems dead,S.S]
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Acacia strolled along the graveyard path, examining the broken tombstones along the way. Over the hill, she could just see the top of the Hanging Tree's tree. Carried by the faint breeze, Acacia could hear the band starting one of their most famous songs. A Halloween Town favourite.

_Boys and girls of every age,_

_Wouldn't you like to see something strange?_

_Come with us and you will see_

_This, our town of Halloween…_

There were no lyrics to the music they played now, but every Halloween Towner knew the song's lyrics. She hummed along, avoiding a patch of briars that had grown out from the old cemetery's gate. Acacia stopped, curious. Nobody had been down that way for ages, nobody had walked along spiral hill for at least a year. She smiled dangerously, and placed one foot in between the gate bars. When they held, Acacia started her way to the most famous spot in Halloween Town history.

She always had been a sucker for adventure.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"JACK!"

Jack Skellington poked his skull out of his study window.

"Jaaaaaaaaack!" cried Acacia, waving her arms about and nearly knocking a low-flying Witch sister off her broom.

"Acacia! What is it?"

Acacia paused. "Can I come in?" she shouted in response.

The Pumpkin King scratched his head with one bony finger.

"Of course!" he cried "But why?"

The girl climbed the steep steps to Jack's house. "I'll explain inside."

Acacia sat down in one of Jack's chairs, and told him about the old cemetery

"Jack, you know the old cemetery? And Spiral Hill?"  
She paused but left him no time to answer before continuing

"Well, I was wandering around there yesterday because, nobody had been there in ages. And when I was walking through Behemoth's pumpkin patch, I realised that there were no pumpkins. Why?"

Jack had been trying to interrupt for a while, and said

"Well, you see Acacia, the reason there are no pumpkins is…is because…how do I put it?"

He tapped his skull, searching for a way to say whatever it was. He sighed deeply.

"Our town is dying Acacia."

"What?"

She couldn't believe her ears. Surely Jack, the Pumpkin King, ruler of Halloween Town, defeater of Oogie Boogie (twice!) could do something about it!

"The pumpkins are gone because there's nothing to grow them on." He continued softly and sadly. "The town itself survives on the fear and chills of humans but, sadly, no-one is scared anymore. I've tried and tried to make each Halloween more frightening, more terrifying than the last, but it's just no use

"Acacia, what's happened to Spiral Hill?"

Acacia paused, she knew Jack was partial to that part of Halloween Town. He and Sally alike.

"Jack, it's…it's dead. But I-I didn't know it was living, Jack."

The Pumpkin King rose from the chair, went over to the window and hung his head.

But suddenly, Acacia had a great idea. A brilliant idea. Better than bone biscuits, as she said herself.

"But Jack. What if someone were to go to the human world and scare the living daylights out of them. Someone from this town? Would that make a difference?"

He turned to face her. It was amazing how much emotion two empty sockets could show. But he could see the simple genius of it too.

Unfortunatley,Acacia knew that look. The look that said no-way-that's-way-too-dangerous-for-a-young-dead-girl-like-you.She got it a lot of the time, she can't go into Lock, Shock and Barrel's abandoned hideout, she can't climb onto the Mayor's roof to look for Zero, she can't explore the forest beyond the newer graveyard.

But it couldn't stop her. And Jack Skellington surely couldn't stop Acacia Changé. King or not.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Acacia stopped by the Witches' Shop to get some supplies. She didn't tell them where she was going, but there was one person she could tell.

On one condition, and that was he wouldn't tell his dad.

She snuck away, looking for Raz Skellington and Zero.

She found him on the roof of the town hall, practicing his fire skills. It was quite a sight, ten foot bursts of fire blowing from his mouth. Zero, Jack's old dead dog was there too. He usually followed Raz around nowadays. Acacia crept up to the skeleton boy and tapped him on the shoulder. Startled, Raz choked on the flames in his mouth, coughing out jets of it.

Smiling sweetly, she patted the ghostly dog on the head. Of course, her hand went straight through him, but she did it all the same.

"Acci? What're you cough doing here?" ask Rashes eyes widening.

"I'm here to see if you want to help me on my quest to return Halloween Town to it's former glory." She said quickly. She spoke quickly when she wanted to not get into trouble with someone, like a human child does.

But he stared gormlessly at her.

"That means?"

She motioned for him to come closer, and whispered

"I'm going to the human world, the world of the living to save this town. Obviously you've heard your dad talking of the town dying?"

He nodded sadly.

"And as Pumpkin Prince you expect me to help you?Cos it's gonna be mine someday?"

Acacia nodded. He though for a few seconds, then smiled an said

"Well,it isn't everyday that something like this comes up. But there's a condition right ?"

"You know me well, pumpkin boy." She joked

"And it's that I can't-"

"Tell Jack. Is that okay by you, partner in crime?"

She stuck out a hand. Raz looked at it, then shook it with his bony one.

They both smiled a smile of mischief, one that al the children of Halloween Town shared.

The one that said that they were going to break some rules. And boy were they.

Acacia realised something now. One slight fly in the ointment.

"Yeah, great idea of mine.But, Raz, how do we actually get to the human world?"

"Easy." He said.

"Easy?"

"Sure," he answered, still smiling. "There's bound to be more than one person other than Dad who knows where it is."

"Who?" asked Acacia, dumbstruck.

"Mom, of course. Who else?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

As they were setting off straight after learning the way to the human world, Acacia and Raz detoured to the town's fountain.

Seeing the faint greenish glow reflected off Raz's skull was kinda creepy. She took the crystal vial out of her pack and he did the same.

Almost everyone carried a crystal bottle about. It was the only thing that could hold the spring water because it melted trough the other bottles.

The both plunged the vials into the fountain, waiting until it filled up completely or it burned Acacia's flesh off her left arm.

"Whatcha doin'?" asked a voice behind them. She turned, it was the Corpse Kid. Although, nobody could call him Corpse _Kid _anymore.

Halloween Towners grew up once they were dead, but never grew too old. Unless you had died old and came here.

And everyone just called him Corpse now.

"Nothing," they both said automatically."We just came for some water." said Raz

"At the same time" added Acacia

Corpse wasn't so easily misled.

"Okay then, where are you going?"

"Nowhere!" they both laughed again.

The vials were full now. Acacia took them both, replaced the corks and put them back in their bags.

"So, Raz. Where is Sally?"

He pointed in the direction of the Hanging Tree's home.

"There." He said

After a while, they arrived outside the entrance to Big Hanging Tree. Acacia looked at Raz, telling him to call out.

"Mom?" he shouted "Mom, it's me, Raz!"

"Sally! Are you there?" cried Acacia

No answer. That was strange, Sally was nearly always there.

"Perhaps…she's gone to Doctor Finkelstein's?" she suggested

"Or to get another load of deadly nightshade."

Raz shrugged and they went to look for her.

But after talking to the Doctor, and looking in the right places, they couldn't find here. Nobody knew, nobody had seen her.

Raz was getting anxious.

"What if…" he reasoned for the fifth time in an hour. "What if I ask my dad where-"

"No! Raz don't you get it?" she interrupted, shouting at him.

He glared back at her, with a look that reminded Acacia a lot of Jack.

"Sorry." She mumbled, looking down at the floor." But we can't go see him because he'll say we can't go and then that's it. This town'll die and that's the end of Halloween. Imagine."

He thought, and then heaved a sigh.

"I know. But what are we going to do?"

"Well, Jack isn't the only holiday leader who knows where it is, is he?"

He looked at the girl confusedly.

"What?"

Acacia smiled that smile.

"What about Sandy Claws? He goes once a year too. He's bound to help us, after Jack saved his life."

"Twice," added Raz,"And yes, he does owe us a debt. And he would know. And you're right."

"As always." She said proudly.

He scoffed at her.

"So all we have to do-"

"Is get to the Hinterlands-"

"Persuade Sandy to tell us-"

"And boo! We're off before you can say oh my god what are we doing!"

They both laughed and set off for the old cemetery


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Acacia landed beside Raz after jumping down from the gate. Now standing in the old cemetery, they both felt less keen to get to the Hinterlands. The missing pumpkins made her shiver but the biggest shock was Spiral Hill.

It was strange seeing it gone after all that time.

"Creepy," whispered Raz, open-mouthed."

"Yeah." She replied, and shivered just a little bit.

Both of them walked slowly to the spot where it had been. Acacia just staring, but Raz was trying to work out how they could get up there without the hill.

"Got any ideas?" he said "If not, I'm gonna turn back. This is too weird."

She thought for a moment, then said with a sigh

"We can't turn back. And I do have an idea."

"What?"

The girl smiled.

"Well, I am a shape shifter, skellington boy."

It seemed Raz wasn't as heavy as he looked, well, he was a skellington after all.

She changed back from a bat to her human(ish) shape, and found herself face to face with the Hinterland gate. Now, the pumpkins had been creepy, but that was just plain scary. Even for a Halloween Towner. Even for a Skellington. Trees don't grow like that, in that shape and the trees don't grow so close together in the new graveyard forest.

But they couldn't go back now.

After struggling through the forest for two hours, both of the companions had to stop.

"This is getting us nowhere!" Raz shouted, kicking the base of one of the trees. His voice echoed round the forest, scaring off a crow somewhere.

"And kicking trees doesn't either," replied Acacia moodily "But we need to-"

"I know, I know. But we're lost in here anyway. No-one will find us."

They both sat down on the floor, brooding silently. But after three minutes, Acacia heard a faint bark some way off.

"Hey. Psst, Raz!"

"What?" he answered annoyed.

"Did you hear that? It sounds like…"

Another bark, this one was closer.

Both of them jumped to their feet, watching the reddish light that was weaving its way between trees, avoiding a rock here and there.

"Zero!" he cried, smiling. "Come on Zero, come on boy!"

But there was another voice, following the dead dog.

"Hey! Hey come back here you stupid dog!"

After that, there was a loud thud and a groan. Obviously the voice's owner had just run into a tree.

Acacia giggled, realising that the voice was human. A living human. She whispered to Raz, he nodded and they both hid behind one of the thicker tree trunks.

After a while, it came to the small clearing where they hid. It was a boy, at least 12 years old, who was chasing Zero round the clearing, with the dog barking for Raz. The skellington boy was trying to shush him, but with his glowing nose, Zero found Raz easily. Time for a scare.

Acacia jumped from the hiding place, taking the shape of a bat again. She flew at the boy, who threw up his hands in defence. Shrieking she flew off, watching and waiting for Raz.

He didn't disappoint her. Using his famed Skellington-Scaring-Skills (or as the Towners called them the S.S.S's) the boy ended up screaming.

Both of them loved scaring people. It was their favourite pastime. But it struck Acacia that the boy wasn't screaming at all.

He was _laughing_!


End file.
